Business

The prospect of a pre-election interest rate cut by the Bank of England has been damaged by official figures showing no progress in bringing down the pace of wage growth. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed basic pay rising at an annual rate of 6% in the three months to April. That

Politicians should stop tying themselves in knots in promising not to raise taxes, the head of an influential thinktank told Sky News – warning it could lead to something worse. Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, argued neither of the main parties

Administrators to Cazoo, the British online car retailer once valued at well over £5bn, are closing in on a deal to offload its marketplace division. Sky News has learnt that Motors.co.uk, a privately owned used-car platform, is now the frontrunner to buy Cazoo’s brand and marketplace business. Industry sources said the price was likely to

The time on your ticket is 7pm, but you already know it’s not going to start then. So, what time do you get to the cinema? If you’re arriving at 7.10pm, you’re almost certainly safe, but any later and you may cut it fine. Here, we’ve gathered information from the UK’s major cinema chains and

One of Britain’s biggest cinema chains is in secret talks about a sale as part of a strategic review that could lead to a wholesale restructuring of its business. Sky News has learnt that Cineworld, whose parent company went through a series of insolvency processes last year, is working with advisers on a potential disposal

It is impossible to overstate the significance of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s acquittal by a San Francisco jury. Dr Lynch, the founder and former chief executive of Autonomy, was cleared on Thursday night of criminal charges that he fraudulently inflated the FTSE-100 software company’s revenues prior to its $11bn takeover in 2011 by Hewlett-Packard.

Administrators to The Body Shop are aiming to clinch a sale of the stricken cosmetics retailer by the end of the month, even as its former owner veers away from making an offer for it. Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which was appointed to handle the chain’s insolvency in January, has asked for

Labour will promise to get more young people on the housing ladder as it announces its “freedom to buy” scheme on Friday. The party will pledge to make the existing mortgage guarantee scheme – which sees the government act as a guarantor for people unable to save big deposits – into a permanent fixture if

UK entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been cleared of all charges by a US jury in the high-profile fraud case related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. Dr Lynch, who was extradited to the United States to face trial just over a year ago, was acquitted alongside a former

A game-changing generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot used by hundreds of millions has now stopped answering questions on elections following Sky News reporting. ChatGPT will no longer answer users’ questions about election results and instead responds, “Sorry, I don’t have information about the results of that election.” Calling it for Labour and Joe Biden It

The next government is being urged to do more to help drive the transition to electric vehicles as private sales of new pure battery models go into reverse. According to data covering May released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), there was a 2% dip in UK sales of new battery electric

A former senior executive at the Post Office was told by auditors the Horizon IT system was “a real risk”, four years before sub-postmaster prosecutions stopped. Post Office’s auditors Ernst and Young (now called EY) warned Alice Perkins, the company chair in 2011, that the accountancy software “is a real risk” and asked, “does it

The commitments offered by the Czech tycoon seeking to buy Royal Mail’s parent firm do not go far enough, according to the union leader representing its 112,000 UK frontline workers. Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary Dave Ward made his remarks following talks with representatives of Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group. International Distribution Services (IDS) revealed

The headquarters of Toyota Motor has been visited in Japan as part of an investigation into official safety certifications that is affecting models across five major carmakers in the country. Hours after Toyota’s embattled chairman issued an apology for cheating tests on seven models, officials from Japan’s transport ministry descended on the offices in Toyota

The stock market influencer behind the so-called meme stock frenzy of 2021 has triggered a fresh surge in shares of GameStop, the struggling US videogame retailer. Keith Gill, who goes by the name Roaring Kitty online, revealed a $116m (£90.8m) position in GameStop on Sunday. Gill told his followers he controlled 1.8% of GameStop’s available

Wholesale costs for natural gas have hit their highest levels across Europe since December last year after key Norwegian export operations were shut down due to a cracked pipe. The damage, discovered aboard the Sleipner Riser platform, prompted wider energy infrastructure to be halted including the Nyhamna processing plant which exports gas to the UK,

Shein, the online fashion behemoth, is on the verge of taking a huge stride towards a London flotation that would value it at about £50bn and rank among the most significant – and contentious – deals in the UK’s capital markets for years. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shein, which was founded in China

The latest in a spate of corporate transactions in Britain’s estate agency sector will be unveiled this week when London-listed Property Franchise Group (TPFG) strikes a deal to buy the Fine and Country chain. Sky News has learnt that TPFG will announce to the stock exchange as early as Monday that it has acquired Fine

Britain’s biggest water company has been told it faces a fine of more than £40m over the payment of a shareholder dividend in spite of its poor performance. Sky News has learnt that Ofwat notified Thames Water last month that it was minded to impose the penalty for breaching rules on the payment of dividends.

Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion chain, has received a reprieve after the owner of its flagship store towed back from a challenge to its rescue plan. Sky News understands that M&G, the asset manager which had been contemplating a formal objection to Superdry’s restructuring plan, has decided not to proceed with the move. M&G owns